Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Inspection of Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Church Road, Carleton Rode, Norwich, Norfolk NR16 1RW

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 11 and 12 March 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school, where they are taught the school values of ‘kindness, honesty and perseverance’. They are polite to each other and work hard. Pupils like being part of this small school, where they feel safe and happy. At playtimes, they play together well and older pupils often help the younger pupils with games.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations for pupils’ learning. Pupils rise to meet these expectations and achieve well from their different starting points. In lessons, most pupils behave well. They listen carefully to the adults and to each other. Pupils are enthusiastic about their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The curriculum is enhanced with carefully planned trips and visitors. For example, recent trips to Norwich Castle and a local farm and a visit from an explorer. Pupils enjoy being part of the school council and make a real difference to their school, such as running events to raise money for charities.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils can take part in clubs such as rock band, dodgeball and football. Older pupils relish the opportunities to attend residential visits or take part in sporting events. They learn new skills, such as sailing and high rope climbing. These opportunities help them to develop independence and perseverance.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has a broad and ambitious curriculum that interests pupils. Staff have good subject knowledge and help pupils to learn well. From the early years, the school has set out the important knowledge that they want pupils to learn. In most subjects, pupils confidently talk about what they are learning and how this links to what they have learned before. However, in a few subjects, the key ideas that leaders want pupils to develop are not made clear to staff. When this is the case, pupils struggle to make links with their prior learning

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have their needs quickly identified. Effective support is put in place. Additional adults are well trained to provide extra support, where this is needed.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school prioritises reading. The library has recently been updated and pupils enjoy the wide range of books on offer. Teachers read to pupils daily from carefully chosen books. Many older pupils read with increasing fluency and confidence. For pupils at the early stages of reading, the school has an established phonics programme in place. Staff check pupils’ understanding regularly. For those who need extra support, this is put in place. However, not all pupils are developing their reading fluency as well as they could. This is because staff do not deliver the phonics programme using the agreed approaches. Sometimes, pupils practise using books that contain sounds they cannot read yet.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Children make a strong start in early years. They are taught to take turns and work together and enjoy their experience of a wide range of books. Children are taught key 11 and 12 March 2025

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skills, such as counting and writing numbers and letters through activities that engage them. Staff know the children well and design learning that will interest the children. For example, children role played running an ice-cream parlour and modelling vehicles based on their transport topic, using boxes, wheels and glitter. This helps children to become confident and independent learners, ready for Year 1.

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The school has a clear behaviour policy in place. Pupils are well mannered and take great pride in being part of the school community. When pupils need extra help to focus on their learning, effective support is given to them.

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The school prepares pupils for life beyond the school well. Pupils learn about democracy through the election of the school council and a recent project on the suffragettes had led to some lively discussion about equality. Pupils learn about other cultures through musicians, stories and in assemblies. They have close links with the local church, where they hold regular services and events.

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Governors know the school well and provide appropriate support and challenge to leaders. Staff enjoy working at the school and say being part of a federation helps them with their work and increases opportunities for the pupils.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, staff are unclear about the key concepts that the school wants the pupils to develop over time. This means that new concepts and ideas are not always linked to the prior learning needed to understand these. The school should ensure that in these subjects, key concepts that pupils will learn over time are made explicit and included when delivering the curriculum content.  Phonics is not always taught using the agreed approaches. On occasion, pupils practise using books that they do not have the knowledge to decode. This hampers pupils’ progress to becoming fluent readers. The school needs to ensure staff use the agreed approaches and resources when teaching pupils to read. 11 and 12 March 2025

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 11 and 12 March 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Ben Stodel (co-chair) Janice Wood (co-chair) Executive Headteacher Callum Richards

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School details

Website www.carletonrode-primary.norfolk.sch.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 1 and 2 November 2022, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This is a small school comprised of three mixed-aged classes, one of which is mixed early years and key stage 1.  This school is part of the Diocese of Norwich. The school has a religious character, Church of England, and was last inspected under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 on 12 October 2017.  The school currently uses two unregistered alternative provisions.  The executive headteacher of this school is also the executive headteacher of Forncett St Peter Church of England VA Primary School.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form 11 and 12 March 2025

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provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s educational provision.  Inspectors discussed any continuing impact of the pandemic with the school and havetaken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the executive headteacher, deputy executive headteacher and senior staff within the school, members of the governing body, including the chair and representatives from the local authority.  The inspectors met with other staff, including teachers and curriculum leaders.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, art and design, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspectors also spoke to leaders about the curriculum in some other subjects, looked at a sample of pupils’

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work across year groups and listened to a selection of pupils read to an adult.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspectors considered the views of staff through Ofsted’s staff survey and of parents through responses to Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments. The inspectors also gathered the views of staff and pupils through meetings and discussions conducted throughout the inspection.

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Inspection team

Heather Hann, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Jo Nutbeam Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 March 2025

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achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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